Chapter 16
997 Words
Brielle's POV
The next morning felt strangely quiet after everything that had happened the night before.
Sunlight spilled through the bedroom windows in soft gold streaks across the floor, warm enough that it should have felt comforting, but Brielle stayed lying in bed staring at the ceiling long after she woke up. Her body felt heavy in a way she couldn't quite explain, like she hadn't actually rested at all. There was a dull ache sitting across her shoulders and lower back, not painful exactly, just enough to make her aware of every movement when she finally pushed herself upright.
Outside, she could hear distant voices drifting through the estate grounds below. Life is moving on normally.
Which felt strange considering the pack house ballroom had nearly collapsed less than twelve hours earlier.
Brielle rubbed tiredly at her face before reaching for the glass of water sitting beside her bed. The second she sat up fully, memories from the night before came back almost immediately.
The chandelier falling.
People screaming.
The whispers afterward.
Thaddeus followed her outside.
And the uncomfortable conversation near the woods behind the estate.
Brielle frowned slightly into her water.
She still wasn't entirely sure why he had followed her outside in the first place. The conversation had felt tense from start to finish, like neither of them really knew what to do with each other anymore.
A sharp knock interrupted her thoughts before the bedroom door opened and Wren walked in carrying two coffees and looking far too awake for someone who had stayed at a party until almost sunrise.
"Well," she announced immediately, "you look awful."
Brielle groaned softly and dropped back against the headboard. "Good morning to you too."
"I brought caffeine," Wren said, crossing the room and handing her one of the cups. "You can thank me later when you stop looking half-dead."
Brielle accepted the coffee gratefully, curling both hands around the warmth. "You're so compassionate."
"I try."
Despite herself, Brielle laughed quietly under her breath.
Wren studied her more carefully after a moment before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
"That's fair."
"And confused."
"Also fair."
Brielle blew lightly across the top of the coffee before taking a careful sip. "Everyone's talking about last night already, aren't they?"
Wren gave her a look.
"That obvious?"
"Brielle, half the pack watched a chandelier crash into the ballroom during the birthday gathering. People are obviously talking about it."
Brielle grimaced faintly into her coffee.
"Great."
"It gets worse."
"That's comforting."
Wren leaned back slightly against the bedpost beside her. "People are also talking about you and Thaddeus."
Of course they were.
Brielle stared down at the steam curling from her cup, already feeling her chest tighten slightly at the thought.
"Let me guess," she muttered. "Everyone suddenly cares now."
"Well..." Wren hesitated briefly before continuing. "After everyone found out he rejected you, people were already paying attention. Last night just made it worse."
The words settled heavily in the room.
Brielle looked away toward the window, watching sunlight filter softly through the trees surrounding the estate grounds outside.
She hated that it still bothered her.
Not the gossip itself.
Him.
The rejection should not have mattered this much anymore after everything that had happened since, and yet every time she thought she was finally over it, something small dragged the feeling back again.
Wren's expression softened slightly as she watched her. "Hey."
Brielle glanced back toward her.
"You don't have to stay here right now."
The comment caught her off guard. "What?"
"I'm serious." Wren shifted slightly on the bed, her energy picking up now that the thought had fully formed. "We graduated. Nothing is keeping us here except gossip and pack drama."
Brielle blinked once. "Are you suggesting we run away?"
"I'm suggesting we take advantage of being finished with school and disappear for a little while before everyone loses their minds."
Despite herself, Brielle laughed quietly under her breath. "That sounds suspiciously like running away."
"Temporary strategic relocation," Wren corrected immediately.
"Obviously."
A smile tugged faintly at Brielle's mouth before fading again. As ridiculous as the idea sounded at first, the more she thought about it, the less impossible it felt.
Actually...
The less impossible it felt, the more relief started creeping into her chest.
Because staying here suddenly sounded exhausting.
Everyone is watching her.
Whispering.
Wondering.
And Thaddeus-
Brielle pushed that thought away immediately.
"Okay," she said slowly. "Hypothetically... where would we even go?"
Wren's entire face brightened instantly. "The capital."
Brielle blinked. "You answered that way too fast."
"Because I've already thought about this."
"Of course you have."
Wren grinned unapologetically. "Brielle, I've wanted out of this territory since I was fifteen."
That pulled another laugh from her, softer this time but more genuine.
The capital.
Just hearing the words stirred something unexpected inside her. Excitement maybe. Nervousness. Curiosity.
The capital was massive compared to their territory, crowded with wolves from every region and important enough that no one cared about small-pack gossip for more than five minutes. Brielle barely remembered the few times she and Wren had visited as children, only flashes of towering buildings, endless lights, and streets so alive at night they barely slept.
Then another thought hit her.
"Our grandparents still live there," she said slowly.
Wren's grin widened immediately. "Exactly."
Brielle stared at her. "You already thought this through."
"I've been thinking about escaping this place for years," Wren admitted. "The capital gives us an excuse, a free place to stay, and distance from..." She gestured vaguely around them. "All of this."
Brielle looked down into her coffee quietly.
All of this.
The gossip.
The rejection.
The constant feeling of being watched now.
Maybe leaving for a while wasn't such a bad idea.
"You're actually considering it," Wren realized.
Brielle smiled faintly into her cup.
"Maybe I am."
And for the first time since the ceremony-
The future felt like something more than survival.
- Writer
